Antigua Readies Piracy Website

(The Hosting News) – The Caribbean island of Antigua is moving ahead with a rather peculiar idea: Applying to run an piracy website.

According to a BBC report on Friday, the country is seeking approval from the Word Trade Organization to operate a web presence that provides movies, software and music for sale.

It, however, fails to cooperate with international copyright law – something that puts it at odds with other countries including the United States.

There, however, could be a loophole allowing for the website’s existence online.

It won’t compensate the copyright owners but comes after a previous ruling from the WTO. In 2005, the group ruled that Antigua could suspend U.S. copyrights for as much as $21 million per year, according to a report from TorrentFreak.com.

That verdict, however, arrived after the U.S. was found to be in violation of free trades statutes after disallowing Antiguan gambling providers from having access to the U.S. market.

Allowance for the website will be considered on January 28 by the WTO.

The U.S. government has warned against the website and noted it could only serve to undermine the chances of a settlement regarding the status of Antigua’s gambling industry.

But despite that, the country remains defiant. “There is no body in the world that can stop us from doing this, as we already have approval from the international governing body WTO,” commented Antiguan attorney Mark Mendel via TorrentFreak.